Expensive lights (Rep. John Campbell)

The sheer amount of spending that has gone on in this town for the preponderance of this year and the last is simply staggering. Whether it was the stimulus bill at the beginning of 2009 or the health care bill at the beginning of 2010, and everything in between, most Americans understand that the spending levels are simply out of control…and are continuing in ways that are both big and small. But I assure you, even the instances that receive less media attention, they are every bit as egregious.

On Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called a press conference of the Capitol Hill Press Corps to announce the installation of new light fixtures in one of the House cafeterias. Nothing major to report here right? Well these new light fixtures will cost the taxpayer $140,000. That’s $140,000 for light fixtures in ONE room in a single House cafeteria.

I will let you draw your own conclusions about the lighting needs of the Capitol, but at a time when we have debt and deficits as far as the eye can see…do we really need a $140,000 lighting system for a cafeteria?